Weekend Bath Re-dos

A bathroom makeover is the easiest, fastest, and cheapest way to scratch the redecorating itch.  When you get the tingle to tango with your toolbox, remember that themes are not just for parties. Your powder room is the perfect place to play dress-up with the walls, floor, and ceiling.  You’ll reap the benefits of a creative space on a daily basis, and a surprise bathroom is fun for guests, too.  We have ideas you can start and finish this weekend!
Even if you’re renting, don’t be afraid to swap out your bathroom mirror, towel rods, and light fixtures.  Throw the generics in storage, and hammer them back up before you move on to your next adventure.  Customized mirrors, especially, make a lovely lounge.

Make sure you fully commit to a themed room.  As with parties, costumes, or any other venture, “sort of” doing a theme is like straddling the line between average and exciting: it makes your endeavor look confused, and the finished product becomes a question rather than a statement.  So jump in with both feet, readers!

Modern Hula Hideaway

Start your island look by painting at least one wall (but preferably all walls) crayon orange or green or a full, coconut brown.  If you’re sticking to one wall only (but really, do them all), choose the one behind the mirror.  Next, swap your mirror for a wood-framed one and your shower curtain for one in a pattern of white and a paint color you did not use on your walls.  Warning!  Avoid at all costs the beige and sage green palm tree collections at department stores!  These are not Hawaiian but weirdly Mediterranean.  Place one, quality, silk or plastic bird of paradise or hibiscus flower in a matte, grey-black vase (volcanic-feeling) on the counter.  Roll stark, white towels (they can be inexpensive ones) and tuck them in a basket on the counter, on top of a single, silk palm frond.  A wooden link bath mat and wicker accessories in medium tones (steal from the office organization and kitchen departments, if needed) will round off the look.

Retro Girly Paradise

If you’ve got a restroom that’s a bit outdated, embrace it, don’t fight against it. Period oddities like colored tiles and toilets can be fresh and fun again if you just turn up the kitsch willingly. Building your retro girly powder room is all about layering pink on pink and pattern on pattern, then sprinkling with ladylike tokens.  Go with wallpaper for an authentic vibe, something in a bold curly cue or graphic Victorian pattern.  Next, hunt down all the pink, old-school, fuzzy accessories you can find; if you’re not already blessed with retro wonders like a pink sink (or even if you are), you’ll need to include some details like these in your re-do.  For details, perfume bottles collected on mirrors, powder puffs, and vintage lingerie ads will add some saucy fun.

Glam Diva Den

Think of it as your dressing room, stocked with all the things you need to make yourself look fabulous.  Get dramatic with deep violet walls and ceilings (bonus: they’ll cast a warm glow on your skin); you have to go all the way to really make it a womb of glamour.  If you can swap out a fixture, make a chandelier your new light source, and if you can’t, look for chandelier table lamps.   An audacious rug will raise eyebrows in a good way, and a gilt mirror is what you’ll need to frame your famous face.  If space permits, definitely roll in some specialty seating, too.

Metro Man Cave

If co-ed living prohibits turning your restroom into a lady lair, swing the pendulum the other way and man it up with a sexy and sleek war room, bedecked in brown and grey with wood and chrome accents.  Leave the walls white this time, but make statements everywhere else.  Turn the mirror area into a sculptural style statement by opting for a collage of arm wall mirrors (odd numbers are best for groupings), and suddenly your vanity is more like a mysteriously hip laboratory.  Opt for grey or chocolate brown towels with monogramming, which will give your room a luxe, hotel look.  Finish with a surprise curtain choice: flowers, for a touch of the unexpected.

Photo credits: everystockphoto.com, anthropologie.com, target.com, amazon.com, pzrservices.typepad.com